Working Life

   You’ve heard (and, in some cases, unfortunately, been persuaded) that "generous" pensions given to public employees has caused great deficits in pensions and state budgets. It’s nonsense. And here are the facts to prove it.    The Center for Economic and Policy Research has a very important study out. It must be given wide […]

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   Every so-called "free trade" deal that has shimmied its way through Congress has been greased with legalized bribery, starting with NAFTA in 1993, which was the king of all "what will buy your vote" deals. But, the biggest scam, in my opinion, is the "retraining" workers are offered in return for…sacrificing their middle-class livelihood […]

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   It is really sad that our country has gotten to this set of choices: Senate Democratic leaders again rejected calls by House Republicans to wield a "meat ax" in proposing cuts to the federal budget, saying they supported President Barack Obama’s strategy of freezing current spending for five years.[emphasis added]    One side, the […]

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If you share the belief that the greatest economic challenge we face is stopping the stupefying global class warfare underway, then, we have to be quite clear about the tools that support the attack against decent living standards for people and a fair sharing of the wealth. So-called "free trade" is right up there on […]

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   This should be an amusing sideshow: In the speech, Camp will describe Obama as a recent and largely disingenuous convert to a pro-trade agenda, according to excerpts of his remarks reviewed by POLITICO. “Under the Democrats’ control, we did not hold a single hearing on our pending trade agreements since they were signed three […]

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   Yours truly is on the road for the next couple of days so short and sweet is the theme. Someone is getting a raise: Volkswagen employees agreed to a wage deal Tuesday that ensures them a larger share of soaring profits in the German auto industry, and may signal an end to a decade […]

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   It’s official. The president’s stroll to the Chamber of Commerce marks the handing over of the keys to the future of the middle class to the business world (not to mention the complete airbrushing out of the entire economic picture anyone considered poor). And it really has happened with not much struggle.   For […]

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   As we shuffle–or maybe that’s scuffle–into the weekend, a small ray of good news: The government will grant collective bargaining rights to the nation’s 40,000 airport screeners, the head of the largest federal workers union said Friday. John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, told the Associated Press he was informed […]

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Yes, to get back to some sane, healthy economic strategy we have to confront the Wall Street/Robert Rubins of the world, the corruption of the electoral system and a whole set of adversaries. But, I would put at the top of the list the false framing of the choices before us as a nation, and […]

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   Thanks a lot and here’s to labor solidarity: As fans and foes of Walmart geared up for a City Council hearing Thursday, the retail giant cut a deal with the powerful construction unions to build its city stores. The agreement with the Building and Construction Trades Council to use union labor gives Walmart a boost […]

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